Sorry, I do disagree that my child should have considered an LAC as suggested in the title. Generally, I don’t think they are for everyone or even the majority of students. Maybe the majority on CC where people post about their ‘horrible’ gpa of 3.7 and the ‘awful’ ACT of 29,and I think most on CC have heard of LACs in general and know the benefits. The majority of college students(over 50%) go to college and live at home (their home or a parent’s home). A huge chunk go to public schools because that’s what they can afford or those are the schools they can get into. A 2.5 gpa and a 20 ACT? Do the LACs even want them?
The big advice on CC is to stay within your budget and know the costs of the school, including travel. LACs were outside our budget (as were Ivies, Duke, California schools, foreign school, etc.). One of the original points was that there is merit or FA at LACs, but sometimes it just isn’t enough to even consider.
I understand that some think LACs are just the greatest thing ever, and OP loves the one her daughter attends (a very happy thing after her not liking it the first year). They can be great for some students, but so very few can attend them because of cost, acceptance rates, location. It would have been mean to suggest to my daughter that she should consider them when she couldn’t attend even if accepted.